Cougar Basball Loses 10-3 to Concordia
1/31/07

After Cougar Baseball’s big 9-2 win over Point Loma on Wednesday, the squad fell by the same margin to Concordia on Friday, losing 10-3.  The loss drops CSUSM to 1-3 on the season, and brings Concordia up to 1-1.

In a rare start, usual-reliever Eric Julienne struggled with his control for an inning and a third, allowing 7 of the 12 batters he faced to reach base.  He did get out of the first inning without allowing a run, and the Cougar lineup gave him some early support, posting three runs in the second.  Terry Moritz led off that inning with a double to center, and a pair of errors allowed him to score.  That brought Austin Coleman to the plate, and he delivered a two-run single to put CSUSM up 3-0 against Concordia starter Enrique Lechuga.

But from then on, Concordia would take control.  After Julienne surrendered a pair of hits and a walk in the second, Coach Pugh went to the bullpen, opting for righty Chris Skaalen to preserve the lead, which had been narrowed to 3-1.

Skaalen escaped the second, but a leadoff error in the third opened the floodgates for Concordia’s offense.  Thanks to numerous walks in addition to the costly error, Concordia posted 5 runs in the inning, despite tallying just two hits.  The big blow came on a two-on, two-out Nathan Dean double, which capped off the inning and made the game 6-3.  Concordia would score a pair of runs in both the fourth and seventh innings to put the game out of reach.

After the rocky 2^nd, Lechuga would settle down, and would combine with relievers Ryan Torrey and Camerson Bayne to allow just three hits over the game’s final seven innings.  The Cougar bullpen got a boost from Johnny Holtman, who ate up 3 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs and walking only two batters.  Morgan Wynne closed out the game for CSUSM with a perfect inning and a third – the second time in three appearances that Wynne has held the opposition scoreless.